Pocketbook construction



Aug. 11, 1964 R. A. BURGIO, JR 3,144,065

POCKETBOOK CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 29, 1962 INVENTOR. RA Y/V/OND A.BUQG/O J2- A Troy/v5 Y United States Patent O This invention relates topocketbook construction and refers more particularly to a pocketbookwhich has a support frame for carrying a pocket radio or a cigarettecase, and the like, in an externally accessible location on thepocketbook.

Pocketbooks are used for carrylng a variety of personal objects, such aslipsticks, keys, notebooks, billfolds,

etc. Since most of these personal objects are small in size, the usermay place them at random within the pocketbook. On the other hand, it isnot always convenient for the user to carry more bulky objects such aspocket radios, cigarette cases and cameras in the pocketbook for thereasons that they take up too much room, and make it difiicult to locateother smaller objects when needed. Thus, if one desires to carry apocket radio, for example, it is necessary to utilize a separatecarrying case, an expedient which burdens the users by requiring thatthey exercise care that the radio is not accidentally misplaced. On theother hand, it would be preferable to carry the pocket radio in thepocketbook, as there is less likelihood that a user accustomed tocarrying a pocketbook will misplace it.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to providea frame for a pocketbook for carrying a bulky object, such as a pocketradio therein and which makes the radio readily accessible for playingwithout opening the pocketbook.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pocketbookconstruction which facilitates carrying bulky objects therein.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in thecourse of the following specification.

In achieving the aforementioned objectives of the present invention, itwas found advantageous to provide a pocketbook which has an openingextending through one side. A frame is connected to the pocketbook andextends around the perimeter of opening. The frame has an outer sectionof regular shape and includes integral flaps which extend inside thepocketbook and engage the inside thereof for securing the frame. Theframe also includes top and bottom integral shoulders which extend adistance into the pocketbook and act to support the object to becarried. The shoulders include integral resilient clip members whichengage the object and thus add to the security with which it is carriedin the frame. It

is preferable that the shoulders each extend into the pocketbook at anangle slightly less than normal to the side thereof so that the objectcarried by the frame will project out of the pocketbook more at one endthan the other. In use, the object to be carried, as for example, apocket radio, is inserted inside the frame, being supported therein bythe shoulders and clip members. Inasmuch as the shoulders are inclinedas above described, one end of the radio and hence its controls willproject beyond the side of the handbag allowing for the controls to bemanipulated from the outside.

In accordance with the present invention, the bottom shoulder of theframe may be pivoted to the frame to permit swinging the object, as forexample a cigarette case, partly out of the pocketbook to provide betteraccess to the object. In this case, the top of the frame may include apivoted retainer plate which is used to retain the cigarette case in theframe instead of using a top shoulder member.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsshowing, by way of example, the preferred embodiments of the inventiveconcept.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a pocketbook having a frame forcarrying a pocket radio and constructed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front View of the support frame carried by the pocketbook;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the frame taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE2, the frame being shown secured to one side of the pocketbook; and

etbook 10, constructed according to the present invention.

The pocketbook is made with an opening 11 in the front 12 thereof. Aframe 13 is connected to the front of the pocketbook and extends aroundthe perimeter of the opening 11. As is illustrated in FIGURE 1, theframe 13 is intended for use in supporting a bulky object such as apocket radio 14 in the pocketbook.

Referring now in greater detail to FIGURES 2 through 4, the frame 13which is made of metal, preferably of a stainless type, comprisesparallel spaced side members 15 and 16 and top and bottom members 17 and18 made integral with the sides 15 and 16. The side members 15 and 16have integral flap pieces 19 and 20, respectively, which extend inwardlyin the pocketbook through opening 11, and which are folded over tightagainst the inner face of the material 21 forming the front 12 of thepocketbook (FIG. 3). In this manner, the frame 13 is securely connectedto the pocketbook.

A shoulder piece 22 is connected to top member 17 and extends inwardlythereof into the interior of the pocketbook 10. The shoulder piece 22includes a flanged back 23 which helps to support the pocket radio 14and position it within the frame member. Similarly, a shoulder piece 24is connected to bottom member 18 and has a flanged back 25. Of course,the shoulder pieces could also be made integral with the top and bottommembers 17 and 18 to facilitate making the frame 13 from a single sheet.As shown in FIGURE 3, the shoulder pieces 22 and 24 extend into thepocketbook at an angle slightly less than normal to the front 12 of thepocketbook. This permits the pocket radio 14, which is shown in phantomrespectively. The ends of each clip member are adapted to engage on thesides of the pocket radio 14 to hold it securely in the frame member.

The manner in which the pocketbook of the present invention may be usedfor carrying an object like the above-described pocket radio is bestillustrated in FIG- URES l and 3. The radio 14 is inserted in framemember 13 with the bottom of the radio resting on the shoulder piece 24.The clip members 28, 28 and the flanged back thereon, position and holdthe bot-tom of the radio securely. Likewise, the clip members 27, 27 onshoulder piece 22 also engage and hold the top of the radio. The radiois thus held in the pocketbook and is carried therewith by the user.Since the radio projects out of the pocketbook more at the top than atthe bottom, the radio controls 26 are easily manipulatable and the radioneed not be removed from the pocketbook for playing. Since the objectcarried in the pocketbook, in this case the radio, completely fills theexpanse of the opening 11, there is no chance that other objectscontained within the pocketbook can accidentally be lost through theopening. However, absolute security in this regard can be achieved bycovering the inside of the pocketbook over and adjacent the opening 11and frame 13 with a piece of cloth (not shown) sewn to the material 21.

FIGURE 5 shows another form of frame member which may be used on thepocketbook when it is desired to carry therein an object which has to bepartially swung out of the pocketbook in order to be opened as, forexample, a cigarette case. The frame member 40 has top and bottommembers 41 and 42, and integral side members 43 and 44. Flap pieces 45and 46 are made integral with side members 43 and 44, respectively, andserve the same purpose previously described for frame member 13.Shoulder piece 47, on which the cigarette case is supported, isswingably connected to the bottom member 42 by means of a hinge 48. Theshoulder piece 47 also has a flanged back 49 and a pair of resilientclip members 50, 50', which serve the same purpose as that previouslydescribed for the like par-ts on frame member 13. A stop plate 51 isconnected to bottom member 42 and extends inwardly thereof undershoulder piece 47 to support the latter and to act as a stop to preventthe shoulder piece from swinging down below the level of the top edge 52of the bottom member. Frame member 40 also includes a retainer plate 53swingably mounted by means of a hinge 54 to top member 41. The retainerplate extends across the opening in the frame member and partly over theside members 43 and 44 as shown in FIGURE 5. It is held flat against theframe member 40 by the resilient prongs 55 and 56 made integral withside members 43 and 44, respectively. In use the frame member 40 isconnected to the pocketbook in the same manner as previously describedfor frame member 13, the flap pieces 45 and 46 being folded tightagainst the inside of the front of the pocketbook. Let us assume that acigarette case (not shown) is mounted in the frame member 40. The bottomof the cigarette case would lie supported on shoulder piece 47 and theclip members 50, 50 would gird the sides of the cigarette case near thebottom to hold it securely in the frame member. The top of the cigarettecase would lie disposed inwardly of the retainer plate 53. To swing thecigarette case out of the frame member sufficiently to permit it to beopened, one first exerts a pull on retainer plate 53 to overcome theretaining grip of prongs 55 and 56. The retainer plate is then swungupwardly and clear of the opening in the frame member. The top of thecigarette case is then pulled outwardly which causes the cigarette caseto swing partly out of the frame, since shoulder piece 47 will swingupwardly toward the side members 43 and 44. The swing of the shoulderpiece 47 and hence the cigarette case will be checked when the clipmembers 50', 51 contact the inner surface of the side members 43 and 44.At this point, however, the cigarette case will be sufiiciently exposedto allow its top to be opened. To return the ciga- 'rette case to itsinitial position, one merely pushes it back into the frame untilshoulder piece 47 rests on top of stop plate 51. At this point theretainer plate 53 is swung back down to engage prongs 55 and 56 so thatthe retainer plate will act to hold the top of the cigarette case withinthe frame member.

While there is above disclosed but some embodiments of the pocketbookwith built in support frame, it is possible to produce other embodimentswithout departing from the inventive concept herein disclosed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pocketbook having an opening in one side, a support frame forsupporting a pocket radio and the like, comprising spaced top and bottomframe members, a pair of side frame members integral with said top andbottom members and extending between the ends thereof, said framemembers extending around the perimeter of the pocketbook opening, flappieces integral with an inner edge of each of said side members andextending in substantially parallel spaced relation to the side membersin a direction away from the inner edges thereof for engaging innersurfaces of the pocketbook, shoulder pieces firmly connected at one endto the top and bottom frame members and extending inwardly thereof intothe pocketbook, each of said shoulder pieces having an integral backportion at the other end and extending normal thereto in the directionof the other shoulder piece, and resilient clip members carried by theback portion of each of said shoulder pieces.

2. In a pocketbook having an opening in one side, a support frame forsupporting a pocket radio and the like, comprising spaced top and bottomframe members, a pair of side frame members integral with said top andbottom members and extending between the ends thereof, said framemembers extending around the perimeter of the pocketbook opening, flappieces integral with the inner edge of each of said side members andextending in substantially parallel spaced relation to the side membersin a direction away from the inner edges thereof for engaging innersurfaces of the pocketbook, shoulder pieces firmly connected at one endto the top and bottom frame members and extending inwardly thereof intothe pocketbook, each of said shoulder pieces having an integral backportion at the other end and extending normal thereto in the directionof the other shoulder piece, and a pair of resilient clip members firmlyconnected to the back portion of each shoulder piece and extending inopposite directions at each side thereof, said clip members extendingbeyond the inner edges of said side members.

3. In a pocketbook having an opening in one side, a support frame forsupporting a pocket radio and the like in accordance with claim 1wherein said shoulder pieces extend in parallel planes which areinclined to the plane containing said frame members.

4. In a pocketbook having an opening in one side, a support frame forsupporting a pocket radio and the like, comprising spaced top and bottomframe members, a pair of side frame members integral with said top andbottom members and extending between the ends thereof, said framemembers extending around the perimeter of the pocketbook opening, flappieces integral with an inner edge of each of said side members andextending in substantially parallel spaced relation to the side membersin a direction away from the inner edges thereof for engaging innersurfaces of the pocketbook, a shoulder piece swingably connected at oneend to the bottom frame member and extending inwardly thereof into thepocketbook said shoulder piece having an integral back portion at theother end and extending normal thereto in the direction of said topframe member, a pair of resilient clip members firmly connected to theback portion of said shoulder piece and extending in opposite directionsat each side thereof, said clip members extending beyond the inner edgesof said side members, a stop platefirmly connected to said bottom framemember beneath said shoulder piece, a retainer plate swingably connectedto taining said retainer plate in contact with said side memsaid topframe member and extending across said frame bers comprises resilientprongs integral with said side beyond the inner edges of said sidemembers, and means members. for maintaining said retainer plate incontact with said id b 5 References Cited in the file of this patent 5.In a pocketbook having an opening in one side, 21 UNITED STATES PATENTSsupport frame for supportmg a pocket radio and the like 2,055,569 Z010tow Sept. 29, 1936 in accordance with claim 4 wherein said means formain-

1. IN A POCKETBOOK HAVING AN OPENING IN ONE SIDE, A SUPPORT FRAME FORSUPPORTING A POCKET RADIO AND THE LIKE COMPRISING SPACED TOP AND BOTTOMFRAME MEMBERS, A PAIR OF SIDE FRAME MEMBERS INTEGRAL WITH SAID TOP ANDBOTTOM MEMBERS AND EXTENDING BETWEEN THE ENDS THEREOF, SAID FRAMEMEMBERS EXTENDING AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE POCKETBOOK OPENING, FLAPPIECES INTEGRAL WITH AN INNER EDGE OF EACH OF SAID SIDE MEMBERS ANDEXTENDING IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SPACED RELATION TO THE SIDE MEMBERSIN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE INNER EDGES THEREOF FOR ENGAGING INNERSURFACES OF THE POCKETBOOK, SHOULDER PIECES FIRMLY CONNECTED AT ONE ENDTO THE TOP AND BOTTOM FRAME MEMBERS AND EXTENDING INWARDLY THEREOF INTOTHE POCKETBOOK, EACH OF SAID SHOULDER PIECES HAVING AN INTEGRAL BACKPORTION AT THE OTHER END AND EXTENDING NORMAL THERETO IN THE DIRECTIONOF THE OTHER SHOULDER PIECE, AND RESILIENT CLIP MEMBERS CARRIED BY THEBACK PORTION OF EACH OF SAID SHOULDER PIECES.